Be Your Everything

The next few days were spent watching movies - until Alice discovered she could plug Harry's iPod into a small black dock that was located next the the television.
Harry and Liam were sitting side-by-side on the couch watching as Alice jumped around to the beat of Ways To Go by Grouplove.
"She'd be a good dancer," Liam commented, glancing at Harry, who made a surprised face and nodded.
"I reckon you're right. I'll ask her someday soon."
"Ask her what though?"
"If she wants lessons or-"
"You and I both know she wouldn't accept you paying for it."
"I'll tell her it's free!" Harry said a little too loudly and he looked up to make sure she wasn't listening. No, she was twirling in circles now. Amazing how quickly she had become so comfortable around the two boys in the very few days she had been living with them.
If asked Alice wouldn't have been able to explain what it was about them that made her feel the way she did - carefree, comfortable, at home. Maybe it was how much they seemed to care about her well-being, maybe it was the way they spoke to her without judgement in their voices. Whatever it was, she was nowhere near ready to give this feeling up.
"Where's she going to go?" Liam whispered to Harry, careful to make sure Alice couldn't hear. "Y'know, when we get the call."
He was talking about when management were going to call to tell them that the hype had died down, that it was time to come home.
"I'll cross that bridge when I come to it," was Harry's less-than-satisfactory answer.
"You're seriously not even going to talk to her about it before it's too late?" Liam asked in disbelief.
"What do you mean before it's too late?"
"Well, we can't exactly bring her back to London with us! She'll need to-"
"Why not?"
"What?"
"Why can't she come back to London with us?"
This question was met with silence. From both Liam and Alice. Harry's eyes flickered around to see the small girl staring at him with wide eyes and lips slightly parted in shock. "I'll leave you two to it," she announced suddenly, scurrying from the room in a rush.
Harry sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration.
"Oops," Liam added to the awkwardness, looking anywhere but his friend.
"Liam," Harry growled in an attempt to get the older boys attention.
Heaving a sigh Liam turned. "Look, I wouldn't have anything against it - I don't live with you - but no one would agree to it-"
"No one controls me. I pay my own bills, and on my next birthday I'll be twenty. I'll have been an adult for two years. If that doesn't give me some sort of right over my own life then I don't know what does." He sighed deeply and made a decision. "If I want to do this then I will."
"And do you want to do it?" Liam asked the pointless question. He already knew the answer.
"Yes."

...

"Alice?" Harry's voice rang out up the stairs.
The girl that had been called poked her head around the corner of the bathroom door, her hair falling in silky waves down the side of her body. "Yeah?"
"What are you doing?" he asked in a confused tone.
"Brushing my hair. It gets pretty messy when I dance," she explained, walking down to the bottom step, all the while pulling at her ridiculously long hair with her hairbrush as she looked at him.
"Do you dance often?"
Her cheeks flushed crimson. "Oh um... not really. I mean, well, I used to but that was before..."
"Him," Harry supplied drily.
"Him," she agreed, dropping her head and examining the carpet underneath her toes.
"But you like dancing, right?" he asked eagerly before he could stop himself.
Alice gave him a look and nodded slowly. "Yes. Why?"
"No reason," he tried to shrug nonchalantly but had a slight suspicion that she was unconvinced by his airy attitude.
"Oh-kay. Is that all?"
"Actually no. I wanted to talk to you about something," he shifted his weight from foot to foot. This struck Alice as odd - it was a nervous habit of his she had picked up on when he had been on the phone to someone important or being told off by Liam.
"Su-ure." She dragged the word out. "What is it?"
"Come in here," Harry gestured to his bedroom and they both sat down on his bed.
"This all looks pretty serious," Alice commented with a small frown.
He chuckled. "It's serious yes, but not bad."
"Not bad. Alright then, shoot."
Harry bit his lip in anticipation. He had no idea how she would react to what he was about to ask her. And, what if she did say yes? What would his family, his band, their management and fans say about the arrangement?" He was worried, but still sure about what he wanted to happen.
"Harry?"
His eyes snapped up to meet hers and he licked his lips. They were suddenly very dry. "It's more of a question..."
"Not to sound rude but I'd rather you just spit it out because you're beginning to freak me out a bit."
"Right, sorry. You know that I have to go back to London soon..." crap, too blunt.
"And you want me to go soon. I figured," she said far too calmly.
"No! No, that's not what I'm saying at all!"
Her eyebrows scrunched together. She had been sure, given the conversation she had overheard earlier, that they would have mutually decided to ask her to find new living arrangements. "Then what do you mean?"
"I'm trying to ask if you want to come and stay with me in London but it was all coming out wrong..."
Oh. That's the conclusion they came to. She stared at him, unblinking.
"I can let you think about it...?"
She shook her head quickly. She wanted to do it, of course she did, but it was a big move and he was a celebrity! "No, I want to... it's just, won't it be complicated?"
Harry shrugged. "It'll be even more complicated trying to find somewhere else to live."
Alice thought about this. She had been sleeping on his couch and using his bathroom for the past few days already without anything more major than fighting over the shower happening - what damage could lengthening her stay at his permanent home do?
"I can't let you pay for everything-" she began to argue but was cut off.
"If it bothers you that much I can help you get a job and we'll share the rent," he told her casually.
"You're really serious about this, aren't you?"
He gave her a puzzled look. "Why wouldn't I be?"
"Because I'm in the way, I'm no fun-"
"Stop right there," he laughed with a shake of his head. "I know a bit more about your fun-ness than you do, thank you very much. And you're not in the way - you even wash the dishes when I tell you not to!"
She bit her lip and looked away, silently mulling everything over. It didn't take her very long to come to a decision. "Alright, I'll do it."
His face lit up like Christmas had come early. "Awesome!"
"But, Harry..."
"Yeah?"
"Fun-ness isn't a word."